Time-dependent microwave radiometry for the measurement of temperature in medical applications

Microwave radiometry has been considered for the noninvasive monitoring of internal temperature in biological bodies when the temperature is varied under the control of external sources and contacting fluid. The body temperature is modeled as a discrete-time controlled statistical process, whose estimate is cyclically updated exploiting radiometric measurements. The Kalman filter has been used, which is able, with the proper choice of parameters, to balance the temperature retrieval between a priori information and measurements. Prospective applications to medicine have been investigated for temperature monitoring within a neonatal head during a hypothermia treatment.